Gaming Commission Names Equine Medical Director

In an effort to enhance the safety of horses and jockeys at New York racetracks, the New York State Gaming Commission announced Monday the appointment of Dr. Scott E. Palmer as its first equine medical director.

Palmer chaired the New York Task Force on Racehorse Health and Safety, which was formed at the request of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo in 2012 in the wake of 21 equine fatalities during Aqueduct’s 2011-12 winter meet. The four-member panel concluded that more than half of the racehorses that died might have been saved had racing authorities more closely monitored their health and the liberal use of prescription drugs that kept them racing for purses inflated with money from the track’s adjacent casino.

The equine medical director position was established last year as a key recommendation of that task force.

“Dr. Palmer brings a wealth of experience and expertise that will benefit the entire horse racing community,” Cuomo said in a statement. “His skills and knowledge are crucial to the safety and well-being of New York’s world-class racehorses.”

In 2012, Cuomo took over the New York Racing Association in the hope of ending decades of scandal and mismanagement in an industry important to the state. New York has implemented some of the most aggressive medication rules in the nation, but horse racing continues to wrestle with a drug culture that many of its most experienced officials contend is diminishing the sport.

As part of Palmer’s duties, he will supervise all on-track regulatory veterinarians as well as the New York State Equine Drug Testing Program laboratory. He will oversee testing procedures, ensure compliance with regulatory veterinary protocols, investigate incidents and monitor the commission’s necropsy program.

He has worked with racehorses for three decades, most recently as the director of the New Jersey Equine Clinic.

“I am eager to get to work, and I look forward to working with our partners to create as safe an environment as possible for our horses,” Palmer said in a statement.

Palmer will also serve as an adjunct professor at Cornell’s College of Veterinary Medicine, where he will be responsible for developing and coordinating continuing education programs for veterinarians and trainers related to medication and equine injuries.

“Having a sole veterinary point of contact overseeing all New York racehorses and having access to Cornell’s array of resources is simply smart policy,” Palmer said.